I ♡ Trademarks NewsletterIssue #293
Bri Van Til | June 14, 2022
Whiskey Business
You weren’t using that LEHMAN BROTHERS trademark, so why can’t we have it for our whiskey? It was a nice shot, Tiger Lily: after all, I think the fallout from the collapse of Lehman Brothers led to a lot of whiskey consumption!
Diageo convinced jurors that W.J. Deutsch & Sons’ Redemption whiskey’s packaging was similar enough to that of Diageo’s Bulleit that it might cause dilution, but Diageo was not awarded damages.
Jack Daniel’s is alleging that King’s Creek is creeking into their trademark space. US Distilled Products is all like: what is this Jack Daniel’s of which you speak? It seems they don’t know Jack.
PTOs
The USPTO has announced the re-opening of the National Inventors Hall of Fame Museum at their headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
The Russian IP Court has upheld Rospatent’s refusal of a trademark application for CATS, which the Office refused because of its similarity to Caterpillar, Inc.’s CAT trademark. The applicant argued for invalidation of the trademark based on the the U.S. being “unfriendly” to Russia and Caterpillar’s donation to Ukrainian relief.
After hearing public comments, the Justice Department and the USPTO have withdrawn the 2019 “Policy Statement on Remedies for Standards-Essential Patents Subject to Voluntary F/RAND Commitments.”
The USPTO is holding a meeting later this month to talk with stakeholders in AI and other emerging technologies in an attempt to collaborate. To attend the panel discussion, sign up here.
This author wants to know why the USPTO’s identity-verification requirement has not yet been implemented and speculates that there are issues with id.me.
Derivatives (and I’m not talking about calculus)
Whenever possible, it’s best to encourage clients to anticipate derivative goods and services and partnerships to carve out the IP space for them.
When do upcycled and other derivative works infringe others’ trademarks and copyrights?
The 9th Circuit’s finding about the legality of Delta-8 and other hemp derivatives could have vast legal implications. Here’s The National Law Review’s breakdown of the decision.
Professional Concerns
Take a Peacock at this listing for business and legal affairs counsel.
This position as corporate counsel at Louis Vuitton is not just a fashion.
You cannot both be and not be advertising and marketing counsel at Axiom. So maybe you should opt to be!
BIC is looking for commercial counsel to get their legal protection “right first time, every time.”
There doesn’t appear to be anything particularly dark or gloomy about this position as IP litigation counsel for Merck(y).
Have an open role on your team? Send a link to your job listing to community@altlegal.com, and we’ll publish it in our next newsletter.
Odds and Ends
Battles for trademarks and copyrights for various aspects of drag queen culture have become all the rage as “Drag now is like the pumpkin latte of gay culture.”
Having trouble keeping up with the drama about the trademark conflict between Kylies Minogue and Jenner? That was the lawyers, says Minogue. But really, it was a time bomb; she had to say something. So she filed a loco-motion to protect her name.
Are those purchasing domains obligated to search trademark registries?